On Tuesday, June 16, President Barack Obama was interrupted by a pesky, deranged and suicidal housefly during an interview with CNBC's John Harwood.

The drama was captured on video, with a life and death struggle befitting a History Channel segment pertaining to World War II.

It has since unfolded hundreds of thousands of times on YouTube.

One published account referred to the president as "Obamazilla." A writer for the Washington newspaper, Politico, regaled that the "president has been getting lots of kudos for a lightning-fast, Mr. Miyagi-worthy swipe he employed to slay a pesky house fly that was buzzing him ..."

Politico wrote a play-by-play description of the president's performance: " 'Get out of here,' Obama said as the fly buzzed him during his interview. The pest persisted, and when it landed on his left forearm, Obama smacked it. 'Now, where were we?' the president said without missing a beat. Pleased with himself, he added, 'That was pretty impressive, wasn't it? I got the sucker.' "

Many were impressed. That is, with the exception of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Politico reported that PETA called it an "execution," and wants the commander-in-chief to show a little more compassion to even "the least sympathetic animals."

It made me think that if PETA was alarmed over the president killing a fly, one can only wonder what that organization would have thought of the 1914 "Swat the Fly" campaign in Westminster.

According to "Carroll County Maryland, A History 1837-1976," by Nancy Warner, the campaign began with Westminster's "first Civic League, organized in January 1913 with Mrs. Charles E. Stewart, president; Mrs. Frank Z. Miller, secretary; and Mrs. George K. Mather, treasurer.

"Some of the concrete accomplishments of the league included the placement of 'No Spitting' signs and public garbage cans on the streets, landscaping of school grounds, planting of flowers and trees, and swatting the fly."

The civic league's efforts resulted in a bounty being offered on the house fly -- all in the name of public health.

"The Swat the Fly campaign sought to improve sanitation. Children were given 10 cents for every hundred flies killed," according to Warner's account.

The book notes that the tally for 1914 reflected that $159 was paid out, and some 1,500 movie tickets were also distributed as rewards for flies hunters.

The "catch" was described -- in fairly unappealing terms -- as "Thirty-five, 20-pound candy buckets of flies." Let's hope they didn't hand them out with the movie tickets.

Meanwhile, "grocers and butchers were encouraged to provide screens for their doors and windows and protective display cases for their meats."

Of course, all this reminds me that it was Groucho Marx who once said, "Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana."

When he is not swatting flies, Kevin Dayhoff may be reached at kevindayhoff@gmail.com or visit him at www.westminstermarylandonline.net.

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